Single-Use Plastic Bottles Ranked by Plastic Content
Graph of Brands & Plastic Content
Table of Brands & Plastic Content
This table shows the data used for the graph above. It shows each brand and the plastic content for its 500mL bottle in grams. The cap is excluded from the weight. The bottles are weighed without water.
The average weight from this group of water bottles is 17.7g. The Difference from Avg. column shows how much more or less plastic the brand’s bottle has in comparison to the average.
| Brand | Bottle Weight (g) (w/o cap) | Difference from Avg. |
|---|---|---|
| Nestle Eco-Shape Bottle | 12.37 | -30% |
| Niagara | 12.6 | -29% |
| Costco | 12.73 | -28% |
| Food Lion | 12.77 | -28% |
| Crystal Springs | 12.79 | -28% |
| Crystal Geyser | 12.91 | -27% |
| Albertsons Natural Spring Water | 12.99 | -27% |
| Absopure | 13.11 | -26% |
| Sunset Foods-Centrella Spring | 13.11 | -26% |
| Albertsons Purified Drinking Water | 13.12 | -26% |
| Hannaford Spring Water | 13.15 | -26% |
| Meijer | 13.15 | -26% |
| Stater Bros. Pure Water | 13.16 | -26% |
| Safeway-Refreshe | 13.31 | -25% |
| Diamond Springs | 13.5 | -24% |
| Safeway-Refreshe Spring Water | 14.02 | -21% |
| Rite Aid (Crystal Lake) | 14.14 | -20% |
| WalMart (Great Value) | 14.32 | -19% |
| Roxanne Mountain Spring Water | 14.35 | -19% |
| Sparkletts | 14.52 | -18% |
| Acadia | 14.78 | -16% |
| Walgreens-Spring Water | 14.94 | -16% |
| 7-Eleven | 14.98 | -15% |
| Dasani | 15.07 | -15% |
| Aquafina (New) | 15.12 | -15% |
| CVS Spring Water | 15.15 | -14% |
| Wild Oats-Whole Foods | 15.52 | -12% |
| Kroger | 15.59 | -12% |
| Savalas | 15.59 | -12% |
| Shop Rite | 15.59 | -12% |
| Volvic Spring Water | 16.91 | -4% |
| Evian | 17.05 | -4% |
| Publix | 17.06 | -4% |
| Spring! | 17.11 | -3% |
| HEB | 17.12 | -3% |
| Walgreens-Pure American | 17.18 | -3% |
| Odwalla | 17.21 | -3% |
| Drug Mart-Aqua Pura Purified Water | 17.47 | -1% |
| Spring! By Dannon | 17.52 | -1% |
| CVS Spring Water-Pop Cap | 18.58 | 5% |
| Deja Blue | 19.05 | 8% |
| Deja Blue – Pop Cap | 19.12 | 8% |
| Iceland Springs | 20.13 | 14% |
| Evamor | 20.63 | 17% |
| Aquafina | 21.5 | 21% |
| Ethos Water | 21.56 | 22% |
| Aqua Panna S. Pellegrino | 23.16 | 31% |
| Gerolsteiner | 23.64 | 34% |
| 80 Degrees North | 23.72 | 34% |
| Tynant Spring Water | 23.94 | 35% |
| Iceland Pure | 24 | 36% |
| Isbre | 24.03 | 36% |
| Penta | 25.68 | 45% |
| Fiji | 26.1 | 47% |
| Voss | 41.3 | 133% |
About This Data
Our investigation was based on a life cycle assessment study that included data for the weights of various 500ml water bottles from a wide selection of brands. This method provided a clear picture of the plastic content in these ubiquitous products.
Results
On average, a water bottle, sans cap and water, weighs about 17.7 grams. However, there’s significant variation among brands, with weights ranging from 12 to 41 grams.
The single use bottles with the most plastic content were Fiji, Voss, and Penta. Voss stood out, containing more than double the average bottle’s plastic. Fiji and Penta were also high on the list, with 47% and 45% more plastic than the average bottle, respectively.
What The Data Does Not Include
The data does not include every water bottle brand on the market and therefore is not exhaustive, but does give us an interesting look into the landscape.
The data also doesn’t account for bottles using recycled plastic content. We are looking into this and will follow up with another post that takes this into consideration.
Data Source:
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Drinking Water Alternatives and Consumer Beverage Consumption in North America (Access)
- About The Report: This is the most comprehensive and relevant life cycle analysis study on topic we’ve been able to find. While it was commissioned by Nestle Waters North America, it was done so with a stated mission to understand how to reduce their environmental footprint, is clear about the intentions of the project, and was reviewed by a panel of experts outside Quantis (the team commissioned for the study).
- The final report was published on Feb 1, 2010.